In Search for a Safe Play Yard

I don’t like the idea of placing baby in a Pack ‘n Play for play time; the area is so small and confining and so sleep-like, that it just doesn’t seem very nice. Let’s face it — playpens are sooo last century. With our first child, I didn’t really see the point of a play yard; everything on the floor or on the bottom shelves of bookcases were age-appropriate and safe. But Baby #2 lives in a big kid’s world now. The floor is littered with Legos, markers, rocks and leaves, and teeny tiny pieces of paper (oh, how Hila loves cutting!). An exersaucer is one idea, but for a very active 6-month-old, it gets old after a few minutes. This is a baby who likes to explore every inch of the floor. And that’s another point — baby’s put in a Pack ‘n Play for play time don’t get that very important developmental floor time. You can’t learn to crawl in a padded crib. You don’t get the experience of exploration when you’re surrounded by four walls in a small space. The following “play yards” or “playards”) enable you to put your baby (or even toddler) down on the

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Exersaucers and Jumparoos

I am a little overwhelmed. I have about 30 amazon tabs open right now and do not know where to begin. Hila is nearing the four month mark and so it is time to introduce to her the next necessary toy in her developmental range: The Exersaucers. Or the Jumperoo. Definitions: Exersaucers are big round plastic playgrounds. The baby sits in a seat, can swivel around to different activity centers, can rock, bounce, and spin, and can activate lots of annoying lights and noises. Jumperoos either hang from a door or from two ends of a metal frame and provide lots of bounce for the baby, lots of good leg and core exercise, and often also have lots of toys and lights and noise (but usually less than the exersaucer). So how to choose? Well, I’m not really sure. At first glance, I like the jumparoos better. They seem less….creaky. All that plastic on the exersaucer makes the whole experience seem a bit clunky, whereas the ride on the jumperoo seems smoother and quieter. All that being said, I’ve still pulled out a few of each that have caught my eye. 1. Evenflo SmartSteps Exersaucer Entertainer – This is your

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Baby Trend Playard

Apparently a Pack n’ Play is not what it used to be — though that can probably be said for all baby things nowadays. At first we were thinking about getting a portable playard instead of a crib for the first few months, but a friend says that the mattresses aren’t so comfortable for every night sleep. And we don’t want to be responsible for a kid’s bad back later in life. They are good, I’ve been told, for naptime and for travel, so it seems like a good idea to have one. If not for us at our home, at least to leave at Grandma and Grandpa’s house so we don’t have to shlep it with us each time we go (we don’t have a car). Features I want:As with most baby things, I want versatility. I want to spend the least amount of money and get the most amount of stuff. Therefore, a regular playpen seems like a waste of money, because you also need to buy toys, music, a bassinet, a changing table, and storage space in order to get everything you need for travel. Get a playard with all those things included and we’ve got one

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